How to manage notifications for Mail, Calendar, and People

Applies to Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1

In this page

There are many ways to see when you have new email, messages, calendar events, status updates, and Tweets. You have notifications in the upper-right corner, quick status and detailed status updates on the lock screen, and tiles on the Start screen. Here’s how you can customize how you're notified.

Quick updates and detail status updates appear when you lock your PC and are a handy way to quickly see what your next event is or if you have new email.

To change how you see quick status updates on the lock screen for Mail and Calendar

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Settings.(If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Settings.)

Tap or click PC and Devices and then tap or click Lock screen.

To show the quick status, under Lock screen apps, tap or click the plus sign , and then tap or click the app icon. This also allows the apps to run in the background, which makes sure they sync as often as you want them to.

To remove an app from the lock screen, tap or click the app icon, and then tap or click Don’t show quick status here or choose another app.

To change Calendar's event details on the lock screen

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Settings.(If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Settings.)

Tap or click Change PC settings then tap or click PC and devices.

Tap or click Lock screen and under Choose an app to display detailed status, do one of the following:

To show detailed status for an app, tap or click the plus sign , and then tap or click the Calendar icon .

To remove an app from the lock screen, tap or click the app icon, and then tap or click Don’t show quick status here or choose another app.

Some apps can highlight content and show it to you on your Start screen. Mail, Calendar, and People are all able to do this, and many other apps can, as well. You can also resize these tiles—for example, make them bigger to see more updates on Start.

To change how an app updates on Start

Swipe down on the tile or person's picture. If you’re using a mouse, right-click it.

You can make the following changes:

Turn the live tile on or off.

Tap or click Resize to set the tile to be larger (more details) or smaller (fewer details).

To pin items to Start

When you pin items to Start, you can get specific updates about that item. For example, you can select any person from People or any folder in Mail, and then watch new updates and messages come in.

Open the app.

Tap or click what you want to pin to Start.

Swipe in from the bottom edge to see the app commands.(If you're using a mouse, right-click within the app.)

Tap or click Pin to Start, change the name if you want, and then tap or click Pin to Start.

Resize a tile on Start

Press and hold the tile you want to resize. (If you’re using a mouse, right-click the tile.)